Assessments

Job Fit: How To Strategically Hire for Tomorrow’s Results

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“Successful hiring requires aligning skills, values, and potential to ensure resilience and results.” Jeannette Seibly

In a previous article, I focused on what job fit is and what it is not.

To continue, it’s critical to remember, hiring today isn’t just about filling empty seats—it’s about building resilient, adaptable teams that align with your company’s vision and values — and producing intended results. In other words, it’s about selecting employees who will fit the job requirements.

Yet here lies the challenge: too many leaders fail to refine their hiring strategies. Instead, they rely on gut instincts, skip deliberate planning, and ignore the importance of clarifying roles or expectations.

Some might even view a low turnover rate as evidence of a flawless strategic hiring process. But dig deeper, and you will find disengaged employees—doing just enough to avoid attention while costing the business in lost clients, missed opportunities, and sagging morale.

To ensure your team thrives today and tomorrow, it’s essential to rethink how you hire, coach, and manage. Job fit success hinges on prioritizing agility, shared values, and innovation, while using appropriate tools that align seamlessly with your goals.

Do you want to make job fit happen?

1. Hire for Agility and Mental Flexibility

Adaptability is non-negotiable in today’s fast-paced world. Resilient teams navigate change, tackle complexity, and creatively solve problems. Seek candidates who excel in uncertain situations and can pivot when circumstances demand it.

Job fit assessments are invaluable for uncovering potential beyond the resume and interview. These tools evaluate how candidates think, process information, and approach challenges—providing clear insights into how they will drive innovation and thrive in dynamic environments.

2. Prioritize Purpose, Passion, and Shared Values

The strongest teams connect deeply to your company’s mission and values. Candidates that fit the job have purpose and passion and will contribute more than just skills; they bring energy, commitment, and alignment with your culture. However, uncovering these traits requires going beyond superficial interviews.

Use layered questioning techniques, like the Rule of 3, to explore motivations and ensure alignment. Additionally, integrity and honesty assessments add confidence that you’re hiring individuals who genuinely fit your workplace values.

3. Leverage Technology and Predictive Insights

With advancements in AI and analytics, hiring decisions can extend beyond resumes. Modern tools analyze behavioral patterns, validate job fit, and predict compatibility—helping you make smarter, future-focused decisions.

Still, balance is key. Use technology strategically, allowing it to handle tasks like pre-screening or scheduling, but maintain genuine human connection throughout your recruitment process.

Note: Throughout the pre-employment phase, ensure that all assessments and other tools used comply with Department of Labor standards to safeguard fairness and accuracy, as well as other legal requirements (e.g., EEO, ADA).

4. Expand and Diversify Talent Pipelines

To build tomorrow’s results-focused team, broaden your horizons. Go beyond traditional recruitment channels—explore overlooked talent pools, mentorship programs, and upskilling initiatives. Diversity and critical thinking will fuel innovation and strengthen problem-solving within your teams.

Remember, recruitment is just the beginning to discover whether or not the person will fit the job. To keep good employees, robust onboarding processes, clear career paths, and continuous coaching will ensure new hires who fit their jobs stay engaged and committed to your company’s long-term vision.

5. Redefine Success with Growth-Focused Paths

Candidates today seek more than just a paycheck—they’re looking for development opportunities and a meaningful future where they can make a difference. Attract top talent by emphasizing pathways for continuous learning, leadership advancement, and impactful growth.

Expand your definition of success to include sustainability, innovation, and community contributions. Equip employees with the tools to take ownership of their development, fostering engagement and inspiring long-term loyalty.

Hiring for job fit isn’t just about recruitment. It requires refining and leveraging your selection and onboarding systems, prioritizing job fit. This is how you’ll build teams that embody your company’s vision, agility, and shared values.

©Jeannette Seibly 2025 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly, an award-winning Talent Advisor, Leadership Results Coach, and Business Author, boasts over 32 years of hands-on experience. Working with small and family businesses, her expertise helps leaders and bosses refine their hiring, coaching, and management practices and achieve their intended results. Along the journey, she has guided the creation of three millionaires and numerous six-figure earners, all while championing those ready to elevate their game to new heights.

Key Factors to Hire for Job Fit and Avoid Costly Loss of People

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“Job fit is crucial when hiring and promoting people to achieve intended business results.” Jeannette Seibly

Did you know: “Employee engagement in the U.S. fell to its lowest level in a decade in 2024, with only 31% of employees engaged?” (Gallup)

I would assert that many employers are unclear about what job fit is and what it is not. Employees who excel in jobs that fit their thinking style, core behaviors, and occupational interests stay longer and are more engaged.

If you are frustrated and annoyed with hiring great people into the wrong job, this article is for you.

Today, many qualified people are looking for work because they are retiring, being fired, being laid off, or looking for something better. Although there are a lot of great job candidates available – buyer beware – it doesn’t mean they will fit well into the job responsibilities of your company. Outdated hiring practices that rely on intuitive hiring, biases, and inappropriate pre-employment assessments will cause you to lose key customers and top talent while hurting profitability.

“Too often, we hire based on subjective reasons but fire for poor job fit.” Jeannette Seibly

What Are a Few Signs of Poor Job Fit?

• Work assignments are late, with a lot of excuses
• Promises are made without achieving the intended results
• Frequent mistakes occur, and the employee misreads what needs to be done
• Conflicts with team members, customers, and bosses
• Failure to listen, incorporate others’ ideas, and develop win-win-win outcomes
• Lack of business growth (sales) or overrun of expenses
• Constant change in direction – they are easily distracted by “shiny objects” or “crystal ball” syndromes

Why Does Poor Job Fit Happen?

• No real objective data collected (e.g., resumes are more than 80 percent inaccurate).
• Rely on intuitive hiring practices that reflect biases (e.g., the job interviews account for 90 percent of the hiring decision).
• Unwilling to improve the selection process, citing costs for improvement and ignoring costs for hiring mistakes.
• Failure to conduct thorough due diligence (e.g., relying on false data, such as name of employer, education).
• Use inappropriate assessments to determine job fit (e.g., overlook validity, reliability, predictive validity, and distortion factors)
• Believe any known limitations can be overcome with training and development. (Forgetting that no one works that hard to be someone they are not. This is a trap that almost every hiring boss/leader falls into!)

What Is Job Fit?

Job fit refers to the alignment between an individual’s skills, experience, values, and personality with the requirements, culture, and expectations of a specific job and organization. It encompasses several key aspects:

1. Skills and Experience Fit: How well an individual’s abilities and past work experience match the tasks and responsibilities of the role. While these required skills and experience may sound good on paper, the job candidate may not be able to use the skills effectively. It’s why valid job-fit assessments are required. When using highly validated and reliable assessments, you gain insight into the real person and their core behavior, occupational interests, and thinking styles.

2. Cultural Fit: The degree to which an individual’s values, behaviors, and working style align with the company’s culture and work environment. A startup or new business venture is very different from working in a well-established company. In a company that requires thinking outside the box, some job candidates may believe they can … but are unable to design and develop sustainable systems or results.

3. Motivation and Interest: The extent to which an individual’s career goals and personal interests are aligned with the job’s duties and opportunities for growth. With changes in people’s work ethic, their career or life aspirations may misalign with the company’s needs and goals. It’s critical to have very clear expectations: PTO, work-life balance, accountability for following up and following through, etc.

4. Team Fit: How well an individual works with existing team members and contributes to team dynamics and cohesion. Are they someone who can work well with others, be coachable, and keep their ego out of the way?

When job fit is strong, employees are satisfied, business excels, and customers keep coming back.

Strategies to Improve Job Fit

• Create a sustainable strategic job fit selection process.
• Get real about what you need and the type of person who can fulfill the desired results.
• Work with a talent advisor/hiring consultant to train managers on interviewing, due diligence, and using the proper job fit assessment. (Each should account for 1/3 of the selection decision.)
• Remember, many savvy job candidates will tell you what you want to hear, and hiring bosses have a low probability of discerning the truth. It’s why objective data is required.

To recap: Using a qualified job fit assessment that meets the validity and reliability requirements outlined by the Department of Labor, conducting proper due diligence, and structuring interview processes to affirm your intuition/gut will provide clarity and are crucial to improving employee engagement, customer retention, and improving the bottom line.

©Jeannette Seibly 2025 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly, an award-winning Talent Advisor, Leadership Results Coach, and Business Author, boasts over 32 years of hands-on experience. Working with small and family businesses, her expertise guides leaders and bosses to refine their hiring, coaching, and management practices and achieve their intended results. Along the journey, she has guided the creation of three millionaires and numerous six-figure earners, all while championing those ready to elevate their game to new heights.

Grab her book, “Hire Amazing Employees” — it provides overlooked issues when designing and using a strategic job fit selection system.

What Do We Do When Our Insecurities Get in the Way of Our Leadership?

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“Allowing our flaws to be seen is a step towards self-confidence.” Jeannette Seibly

Ah, insecurities—they have a sneaky way of showing up, don’t they? But fear not!

All leaders and bosses have insecurities. Some are more obvious than others (e.g., fear of conflict, unwillingness to stretch outside your comfort zone). As a boss/leader, you cannot let insecurities get in the way of your success, the team’s success, and your clients’ successes.

How to Navigate Our Insecurities and Lead with Confidence

Acknowledge Your Insecurities

• Be honest with yourself.
• Recognize and name your insecurities (e.g., fear, sadness, anxiety).
• Accept them as a part of you without letting them define you.
• Practice kindness towards yourself.
• Share appropriately with your team (e.g., “Oops! I had a human moment.”).
• Offer an apology when misspeaking or failing to honor your word.

Seek Feedback

• Reach out to one or two trusted colleagues or mentors for honest feedback.
• Ask for and be open to constructive criticism to identify future growth areas.
• Take actions consistent with developing the skills.

Continuous Learning

• Engage in leadership training or workshops, especially if you fear doing so.
• Listen to videos to expand your knowledge.
• Engage in conversations where you are not confident.

Shift Mindset

• Embrace challenges as opportunities to grow.
• Use positive affirmations to reinforce your strengths and capabilities.

Build a Support System

• Seek mentors who inspire and guide you.
• Surround yourself with supportive and understanding peers.
• Hire an experienced executive coach to confidentially talk through your concerns.

Set Clear Goals

• Create and celebrate small wins to boost confidence.
• Develop a clear vision and align your actions toward it.
• Learn how to self-promote to win a job or other opportunities.
• Stop chasing bright shiny objects or relying on the crystal ball syndrome that sabotages your goal.

Practice Self-Reflection

• Reflect on your experiences, challenges, and growth through private journaling.
• Incorporate mindfulness practices to stay grounded. Also, take programs designed to deepen these experiences.
• Develop positive self-talk.

Lead by Example

• Show vulnerability to create a safe space for others experiencing similar insecurities.
• Be true to yourself and your leadership style.
• Develop clarity of your true strengths and weaknesses by taking a job fit assessment.

Seek Professional Help if Needed

• Professional guidance can offer positive insights without relying on trial and error.

Remember, everyone, even the most renowned leaders, has faced insecurities. It’s not about being flawless but about continuously growing and evolving. You’ve got this!

©Jeannette Seibly 2025 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly, an award-winning Talent Advisor, Leadership Results Coach, and Business Author, boasts over 32 years of hands-on experience. Working with small and family businesses, her expertise helps leaders and bosses refine their hiring, coaching, and management practices and achieve their intended results. Along the journey, she has guided the creation of three millionaires and numerous six-figure earners, all while championing those ready to elevate their game to new heights.

Communication Styles that Hurt Leadership Effectiveness

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“Good communication skills are required by everyone for a company, team, and project to achieve intended results.” Jeannette Seibly

Between 40% and 60% of conversational utterances are ego-related, focusing on our own feelings, opinions, and personal experiences. This self-centered conversational tendency is even more pronounced on social media, where some 80% of communication focuses on the self. (Wall Street Journal, January 2025)

The Problem: Poor communication is a widespread issue in workplaces today, worsening among leaders and bosses causes preventable conflicts.

Why This Matters: Leaders must listen, engage, and encourage employees. Otherwise, it will impede projects, budgets, timelines, quality, delivery, and other results.

Communication Styles That Cause Conflicts

• Self-Interest Approach: Asking questions just to turn the conversation to oneself (aka BoomerAsking). (Wall Street Journal, January 2025).

• Top-Down Approach: Dictating tasks without explaining “why” undervalues team members, stifles brainstorming, and leads to passive resistance.

• Passive Approach: Avoiding conflict and not asserting opinions leads to unresolved issues and perceived weak leadership.

• Aggressive Approach: Harsh, confrontational communication erodes trust and makes team members fear sharing ideas.

• Manipulative Approach: Deceit and fact-spinning create a toxic culture of mistrust.

• Inconsistent Approach: Frequently changing messages (aka relying on your feelings and indecisiveness) cause confusion and make leadership seem unreliable.

• Lack of Openness Approach: Unwillingness to listen to feedback and new ideas alienates team members and stifles innovation.

• Overly Technical Approach: Using complex language alienates non-experts and hinders understanding.

No one wants to believe that they are using these approaches. But take a moment and really look to see when, where, and why you engage in these bad habits.

How to Transform These Bad Habits

1. Hire an Executive Coach. Even if you need to pay for it yourself, it’s worth every dollar. Poor communication is why many bosses and leaders find themselves unemployed or sidelined. It’s avoidable with an executive coach.

2. Use a Qualified Job Fit Assessment. Understand “why” your thinking style, core behavioral traits, and occupational interests can get in the way of communicating effectively with others. This objective tool is priceless and helps you keep your job! And, when used as designed, can help you get promoted!

3. Develop Strong Meeting Leadership: Leading meetings effectively is crucial — on-site, remote, and hybrid. Work with your coach, take workshops, and watch videos to learn the nuances between mediocre and great meetings. Your communication style will determine the success of your teams’ results.

4. Become an Active Listener and Listen to and Give Constructive Feedback: Attend and participate in workshops, leadership coaching sessions, and other feedback programs. Don’t be afraid to provide quality feedback that makes a positive difference. It all requires good communication skills and an awareness of how you are perceived.

5. Develop Emotional Intelligence. Being mindful is key. Learn when and how to use humor, approach sensitive topics with empathy, and be willing to learn along with your team.

6. Pay Attention to Generational Differences. Older generations may use meetings to tout “this is the way it’s always been done,” making it difficult for newer employees to provide new ideas and solutions. Younger employees may rely too much on social media as “the way to get things done” and fail to understand “fake news” and “sensational podcasts designed to attract ‘Likes.’” It’s up to you to manage these interactions with communication finesse!

7. Train on Etiquette and Expectations: It starts with you! Become familiar with virtual conferencing systems and how to effectively communicate using them! Then, train your team members and others on how to get the most out of these meetings.

8. Be Coachable and Have a Willingness to Admit Mistakes: When you feel insecure about a situation or working relationship, you will tend to dominate the conversation instead of asking for help. Share your experience with brevity and admit when you don’t know something. (It’s a foundational skill required of great leaders.) Hold yourself accountable for implementing the feedback asap.

Good communication skills used during 1:1’s, team meetings, and other conversational moments can be beneficial to everyone … especially you! Remember, a good communication style will avoid conflict and will enhance your team’s cohesion and productivity while achieving great results!

©Jeannette Seibly 2025 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly, an award-winning Talent Advisor, Leadership Results Coach, and Business Author, boasts over 32 years of hands-on experience. Her expertise helps leaders and bosses refine their hiring, coaching, and management practices and achieve their intended results. Along the journey, she has guided the creation of three millionaires and numerous six-figure earners, all while championing those ready to elevate their game to new heights.

Asking for Help Is Required to Achieve Intended Results

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“Asking for help is brilliant!” Simon Sinek

“Recognizing the value of asking for help in hiring, coaching, and managing challenges shows strength and will contribute to your company’s growth.” -Jeannette Seibly

Too often, people believe asking for help makes them look weak. It creates barriers to achieving intended results and hurts our boss/leadership skills.

When stuck in a working relationship, situation, or strategic issue, we freeze, flee, or change the goal (which diminishes the intended result)—all because we failed to ask for help!

Yet, asking for help is one of the cornerstones of achieving your intended results. With only 10 percent of teams achieving their required results, it’s crucial that you, as the boss/leader, confidently ask for help, use the art of listening, and make the necessary changes!

Why do we hesitate to ask for help?

Lack of …

• Willingness. Ego can be a significant barrier. Leaders should remember that seeking advice is a sign of strength, not weakness.

• Trust. Trust yourself and selectively seek insights from a few reliable people rather than broadcasting your query widely (e.g., social media or more than 2 or 3 people).

• Self-Awareness. Lack of self-awareness can lead to an inability to recognize when help is needed.

Seven Tips to Get the Help Needed to Achieve Results

1. Set Aside Your Ego. Take a moment to breathe and seek advice from the right sources. This is critical. Talk directly with the person(s) who can provide the help! For example, a training expert was asked, “I was told I needed to do XYZ when making a presentation. But at a recent workshop, everyone walked out. What happened, and what do I need to do differently?”

2. Don’t Wait Too Long. Anticipate the need for help early to prevent compounding issues. It’s harder to ask for help once you’ve sabotaged yourself (usually unintentionally), experienced a project failure, or damaged a relationship with a co-worker or customer. Ask for help earlier not later.

3. Listen. The art of listening goes beyond the words and includes asking open-ended questions to uncover deeper insights.

4. Don’t Wait for Clarity. (It seems counter-intuitive.) Seek objective feedback, especially when things seem murky and unclear. And remember, you asked for help. This is not the time to become defensive … you asked for help … this is the time to listen. Share in concise statements: The goal of the project or issue; What has been done to date; and What is slated for the future Then, ask for help: “What do you see is missing?”

5. Be Coachable. Stay open to learning and avoid letting ego and pride interfere with accepting help. Remember, your defensiveness will sabotage your success.

An author told me in a group meeting that bragging was nonsense to her, but then complained of poor book sales. She explained, “I don’t see the value and I’m too busy to learn how to brag.” Yet, marketing and self-promotion determine 90 percent of someone’s success as an author. Even after others chimed in, she refused their help! When you refuse to listen, people will stop helping you and your results will suffer!

6. Make Asking for Help a Habit. Seeking assistance regularly can foster your professional growth and build your leadership credibility. Also, it helps you produce results faster and easier each time while building your influence.

7. Make Your Requests for Help Clear and Concise. Clearly articulate what you need and be open to accepting a “yes” or “no” response. If a person is not available or is unwilling, ask someone else.

Important Question! How do you plan to incorporate these tips into your leadership approach?

©Jeannette Seibly, 2021-2025 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly, an award-winning Talent Advisor, Leadership Results Coach, and Business Author, boasts over 32 years of hands-on experience. Her expertise helps leaders and bosses refine their hiring, coaching, and management practices and achieve their intended results. Along the journey, she has guided the creation of three millionaires and numerous six-figure earners, all while championing those ready to elevate their game to new heights.

Secrets to Achieving a Successful 2025

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“What are you doing differently to get the results this year?” Jeannette Seibly

A new year has begun! While some of you as leaders and bosses may be excited, others dread it and hope it’s not another year like last year!

What are the secrets to moving forward and achieving a fabulous year?

No, it’s not creating more resolutions!

It’s expanding your leadership!

Keep reading …

Secrets to Expanding Your Leadership

Be Curious. Take time for reflection on what you really, really, really want to achieve this year for yourself! Expand and think bigger than your normal way—playing small and safe won’t get you a promotion, pay increase, or new job opportunities. Expanding your curiosity requires hiring the right executive coach and doing the work!

Seek Feedback. While you may hate to hear others’ opinions, thoughts, and feelings (most people do), discovering your leadership blind spots is priceless. Suggested questions: “When you think of me, what are my strengths?” “What are one or two areas that you would recommend I improve on?” “Anything else you’d like to say?” Remember, you’ve asked them for their feedback. Do NOT debate. Instead, ask open-ended questions to delve deeper if you desire to do so. If you really want to expand your leadership savvy, do this.

Know Thy True Self. Yes, many people believe they already do. Interestingly, they know themselves by how they want to be seen … not by who they really are (and how others see them). In this era of desired authenticity, knowing your inherent strengths and how to work with these traits to minimize weaknesses is important. This expands your influence and encourages others to listen to your ideas.

Seek Resolutions. Conflict and disagreements can create havoc with your team and your future, especially if you’re someone who likes to sugar-coat the issue or deny the issue exists. Your job as a leader is to help others grow and develop. It starts by having people discover “why” there are differences and how to use critical thinking skills. Learn to expand your results and resolve the situation instead of having the focus on someone’s personality!

Develop Good Working Relationships. You don’t have to love your boss or employees. However, you do need to focus on their positive qualities and learn how to work with them for your success. I’ve worked with many leaders to develop and expand this skill — it made the #1 difference in their success.

Dial Up Your Humbleness. Yes, egos have a way of getting in the way of your success! To avoid burnout, ask for help! Use your coach, boss, and team to improve and expand (or simplify) your ideas for workability.

Self-Care. When you feel overwhelmed by people and situations, breathe! Sounds simple but it’s not automatic it naturally calms you down. Take a walk. Talk it out privately with a confidant. Again, be open to feedback that you may not want to hear. Being a great leader requires expanding knowledge, confidence, and abilities.

Hire a Coach. ALL successful leaders have coaches! Take the leap and hire the right one now!

©Jeannette Seibly 2025 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly, an award-winning Talent Advisor, Leadership Results Coach, and Business Author, boasts over 32 years of hands-on experience. Her expertise helps leaders and bosses refine their hiring, coaching, and management practices and achieve their intended results. Along the journey, she has guided the creation of three millionaires and numerous six-figure earners, all while championing those ready to elevate their game to new heights.

Want to Improve Results? Stop Creating Scapegoats

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“When you inspire others to achieve intended results, you do not need to create scapegoats.” Jeannette Seibly

Think briefly about a time you were blamed for a poor result, interaction, or situation.

• How did that feel?
• How did your attitude and behavior change?
• What did you do next?

For many, it may feel familiar to have bosses or leaders who normally create scapegoats! Being scapegoated humiliates and diminishes their value to the team and company. (Note: Humiliating anyone is rarely forgotten nor forgiven!) The team or team members withdraw, stop being innovative, and avoid accountability! They adopt a mindset of “going along to get along” until they find a better boss and employer.

When a leader or boss feels the need to blame others and designate scapegoats, it creates a toxic workplace culture of mistrust and distrust – sabotaging results now and in the future.

What is Scapegoating? In a business context, a scapegoat is an individual or group unfairly blamed for problems, failures, or negative outcomes within a company.

Scapegoating is one of the most destructive actions bosses and leaders can take. When leaders fall into the malicious trap of scapegoating, it’s to avoid feeling like a failure. They attempt to deflect accountability from themselves and deflect focus from the true causes of issues, placing blame on someone who may not be responsible. This is especially prevalent during crises, the loss of major clients, or team failures to achieve intended results.

Cecilia’s Story: Cecilia, a team leader, had a very toxic habit. She refused to take responsibility for her team’s poor results. She’d blame certain team members for the results but was careful not to blame those team members lacking strong self-esteem. If someone questioned her decisions or comments, she would find fault with their comments and then, use them as a scapegoat in future conversations.

By understanding and addressing scapegoating, leaders can foster a more transparent, accountable, and supportive work environment.

How to Stop Scapegoating

Hold Yourself Accountable: As a boss/leader, you need to hold yourself accountable for your and your team’s results. Conduct a deep dive into “What Worked?” and “What Didn’t Work?” to create an objective overview. Ask open-ended questions of the team, co-workers, and executive management to explore what changes could have been made or what issues were ignored.

Be an Effective Communicator: When you own your mistakes, it sets the tone for the team and company. Honest communication and straight talk encourage innovation, agility, and profitability where everyone is engaged and not fearful of becoming a scapegoat.

Focus on Resolving Conflict: Resolving conflicts requires your involvement to ensure people are asking open-ended questions and actively listening. When scapegoating occurs, it’s time to stop so you don’t overlook the core cause of the issue or conflict. Don’t forget to provide team training (e.g., project management, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, etc.) for ALL team members.

Build Ongoing Trust: Mistrust and distrust are rampant in a toxic environment where everyone blames everyone else. To build trust, talk straight. Acknowledge every team member’s contribution to the results. Leaders need to make this a daily practice to build and maintain trust with their teams.

©Jeannette Seibly 2025 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly, an award-winning Talent Advisor, Leadership Results Coach, and Business Author, boasts over 32 years of hands-on experience. Her expertise helps leaders and bosses refine their hiring, coaching, and management practices to achieve their intended results. Along the journey, she has guided the creation of three millionaires and numerous six-figure earners, all while guiding those ready to elevate their game to new heights.

Internal Mobility Creates Profitable Companies

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“It’s tough when markets change and your people within the company don’t.” Harvard Business Review

Many employees are staying longer with their current employers, but this doesn’t necessarily mean they are happier (also known as the Great Detachment—employees who are unhappy but not leaving, according to Gallup). In fact, many are simply waiting for new jobs elsewhere. The significant reasons? Many companies are failing to provide professional development and opportunities for growth.

Promoting internal mobility is a key strategy for retaining employees, enhancing both company agility and profitability. Leaders should leverage their employees’ skills by facilitating their movement into new roles and opportunities within the company. Internal mobility can include lateral moves, promotions, project-based roles, and taking on new responsibilities.

By creating a company culture that builds on and utilizes existing skills and knowledge, your company can be ready for change and profitable growth!

Steps to Make Your Company Ready for Internal Mobility

Update Current Policies and Practices

Review existing policies and identify gaps that make it difficult for employees to apply for and get different jobs within your company. Instead of requiring a long list of skills and experiences, focus on their accomplishments. For example, ask them to describe a recent project where they and their team produced intended results.

Create Career Pathways

Not everyone wants to be a manager of people, yet this is often the only way employees can get a pay increase. Instead, utilize their experiences by building different career ladders or pathways. Use a qualified job fit assessment to focus on employee strengths and actual interests. For example, placing someone who excels with numbers into accounting may not be beneficial if they have no interest in accounting or finance.

Train and Develop Your Leaders

Many leaders hold their positions due to their expertise in finance, technology, or operations, but they may lack people development skills. Hire coaches for these leaders and focus on developing them to develop others.

Address Cultural Resistance

Some managers and employees resist internal mobility. To overcome these blocks, understand why. For instance, some companies base career mobility on length of service, which is not always indicative of effectiveness or ability to learn new skills. Address this type of resistance by emphasizing skill and performance over tenure.

Address Skill Gaps

Everyone can be a leader without a title, but it requires leaders to allow employees to work without micromanagement. Encourage employees to share ideas and take initiatives to close skill gaps. Provide workshops, one-on-one coaching, and training programs in communication skills, critical thinking, teamwork, and project management to prepare them for internal moves.

Build a Talent Pipeline

Encourage employees to participate in small-group and company-wide teams, as well as trade and professional associations. These opportunities broaden their awareness and help them learn new skills. When new positions arise or employees leave, look first at your talent pipeline to fill these roles. This saves time and money, while increasing your company’s agility and profitability to meet new market demands.

© Jeannette Seibly 2024 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 32 years of practical experience guiding leaders to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and achieve amazing results. Achieving business success always starts with having the right people in the right jobs. She has been an Authorized PXT Select® Partner for over 33 years. Contact Jeannette to learn more about state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tools or how to coach and manage your people to achieve incredible results.

A Note from Jeannette: Developing internal mobility in your company increases agility and improves the bottom line. What does it take? What are some of the issues and challenges that must be addressed? This week’s article covers common, yet overlooked, areas that need attention. Contact me for a confidential conversation to resolve what seems unresolvable.

Now is the time to get into focused action! Are there days you dread managing your people, projects, and team’s financial performance? You’re not alone! Everyone has those days. But continuing to hide behind excuses only hurts you and your future promotability. I have extensive experience guiding leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams successfully, including helping you get out of your own way and working effectively with your team to achieve the required results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

Prevent Poor Results: Proactively Address Bad Behavior

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“Bad behaviors in the workplace need to be addressed before bigger issues are created.” Jeannette Seibly

As a boss/leader, it’s important to address bad behavior before it impacts or hurts results for the company, client, and team.

Waiting and hoping the issue(s) will resolve itself is not a proactive strategy.

This lack of initiative usually backfires and will escalate into a bigger workplace issue that now costs time and money. Even worse, top talent and clients start leaving. Note: This article is focused on a team member, not the entire team. Contact me for help to address bad team behavior.

Proactive Steps to Resolve Bad Behavior

Be Aware: Pay attention to all of your team members’ behaviors, such as being late, dismissive of others’ ideas, and causing conflicts with team members and others. Is this a one-time occurrence? (There may be nothing to do depending on the severity of the behavior.) Or has it happened more than once? (It’s time to address.)

Talk 1:1: Schedule a meeting to discuss your observations and include any feedback you’ve received from others. Be sure that the meeting is confidential (not in your office) and is free from interruptions.

Express Concern: Start the conversation by expressing genuine concern for the well-being of the individual.

o “I’ve noticed some changes in your behavior recently (be specific: arriving late to meetings, argumentative), and I’m concerned about you. Is everything okay?”

Use Open-Ended Questions: This encourages the person to share their concerns and feelings. Be sure not to judge or fall into the “Ain’t it awful” trap.

o “What’s been going on lately that is causing this behavior?”

Listening and Understanding: Actively listen without comments. Silence works wonders if the person doesn’t respond or appear to understand.

Provide Support by Identifying Needs: Never assume you know what needs to be done. Ask the team member for what type of help s/he needs. This could include counseling services, additional training, or adjustments to their workload. If there is an issue with the team leader or another team member, resolve it without embarrassing the person you’re talking with (e.g., hurtful comments, ideas not being heard). If their role on the team or in their job isn’t working, it may be time to use a job fit assessment to determine how to restructure their work responsibilities.

Set Clear Expectations. Use straight talk when outlining the expected behaviors and performance standards. Together with the team member, create an action plan with specific and achievable goals, along with deadlines.

o “Let’s discuss what’s expected in terms of behavior and performance so we can work towards improving the situation together.”

Follow-up and Monitoring. It’s up to you to check in and monitor progress while providing the support required. This is where many bosses/leaders fail to make a positive difference. Use the Sandwich or Direct approach depending on the person … make sure it is constructive. Note: If there are the same excuses each day/week, it’s time for a come-down-to-reality conversation and a revised plan of action.

o I’ve noticed positive changes in your behavior, and I appreciate your effort. Let’s continue working on the remaining areas.” OR
o It’s been several weeks and there hasn’t been notable progress. Let’s review the plan and see what changes we need to make.

Encourage Feedback from Others. Have an open door where team members can share their concerns. But don’t fall into the trap of agreeing with every nuance that occurs (e.g., perceived slights, concern about others sharing off-the-wall ideas) – people are human beings – and are not perfect. Focus on performance and not personalities.

o I’ve found this process to be extremely useful and eye-opening in bringing together a team and overcoming biases and judgments. Use a job fit assessment for all team members and contact me to conduct an effective team debrief.  Then, encourage each person to meet with another one to review the results. This process fosters open communication.

Appreciation Works. Remember to express your appreciation to each and every team member … this can make a big difference in modifying people’s behaviors.

o For additional training, use the “Get Your Brag On!” to guide employees to recognize their impact and successes.

©Jeannette Seibly 2024 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 32 years of practical experience guiding leaders and bosses to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and produce amazing results! And yes, achieving business success always starts with having the right people in the right jobs! She has been an Authorized PXT Select® Partner for over 33 years. Contact Jeannette to learn more about these state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tools or how to coach and manage your people to achieve incredible results.

A note from Jeannette: It can be difficult to address bad behavior … most bosses/leaders ignore it and hope it will resolve itself. The problem? It rarely gets better on its own and usually costs lots of time and money. Even worse, you will lose top talent and clients the longer it’s not addressed. This week’s article provides a proactive approach to address the issue now. Contact me with any questions – we can address how to resolve what seems unresolvable.

Now is the time to get into focused action! Are there days you dread doing what is needed to manage your people, projects, and team’s financial performance? You’re not alone! Everyone has those days! But continuing to hide behind excuses only hurts you and your future promotability. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams successfully – this includes getting you out of the way and working with and through people effectively to achieve the results required. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

The Secret to Overcoming Team Resistance

by
“Use a compassionate no-nonsense approach when teams are resistant to change.” Jeannette Seibly

There are many ways to overcome team resistance … but the secret is to strengthen your ability to communicate effectively.

Managing teams that are resistant to change requires patience, empathy, and clear communication. By understanding the root causes of resistance, involving your team in the process, and providing support and resources, you can create the intended results and a process that motivates the team to do more.

Use Effective Communication to Address Resistance Constructively

Use a compassionate no-nonsense approach. This approach blends empathy with clear, direct communication. This style is effective in leadership and interactions as it respects others’ feelings while maintaining focus on results.

• Have empathy (the ability to understand and share the feelings of another – Oxford Dictionary) and be clear by actively listening and engaging with concerns.
• Be direct in your expectations, feedback, and decisions.
• Hold team members accountable by acknowledging feelings.
• Offer support and resources, yet be firm in setting boundaries (e.g., timetable and budget).

When offering new ideas, take responsibility for how you share them. Remember, you’ve been thinking about these changes for a while. It may be the team member’s first-time hearing about them. Hence, resistance. Talk straight in a no-nonsense way. Don’t be cutesy and make jokes to communicate your point … also pay attention to microaggressions you may not be aware of saying. (Talk with your executive coach to distinguish them.) Stick with the issue being addressed and why the change is necessary. Don’t be afraid to hear others’ suggestions, but don’t get bogged down and take the team off-track.

Beware of the “I’m confused” default response. Yes, some employees default to confusion when they resist change or need to step out of their comfort zones. They use this excuse to not be held accountable … why? It works! First, talk with your executive coach to ensure you are clear on how to best present your ideas or suggestions. Use a job fit assessment for objective feedback. If this “confusion” happens frequently, the person may be in a job that isn’t a good fit. For example, if you place a technical person into a customer service role, they may lack the required mindfulness when interacting with people on a frequent basis. (They are actually confused.)

Build trust by being consistent and leading by example. When team members fear playing a bigger game, there will be a lot of resistance! Are you leading by example? Are you willing and able to listen and talk through the concerns without disrespecting the team? Do you allow others’ fears to diminish achieving the goal? (Hint: Goals should be ten words or less and stretch you and your team from where you are now.)

Get back to basics through training … it is critical. Provide ongoing training … one and done does not work when guiding team members to expand their communication, critical thinking, and technical skills (and your communication and leadership skills). Remember, be patient … small steps will always lead to significant gains.

©Jeannette Seibly 2024 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 32 years of practical experience guiding leaders and bosses to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and produce amazing results! And yes, achieving business success always starts with having the right people in the right jobs! She has been an Authorized PXT Select® Partner for over 33 years. Contact Jeannette to learn more about these state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tools or how to coach and manage your people to achieve incredible results.

A note from Jeannette: Team resistance to new ideas or ways of doing their work can be challenging as a boss/leader. A compassionate no-nonsense approach works best since it includes empathy and talking straight. Contact me to start a confidential conversation and address how to resolve what seems unresolvable.

Now is the time to get into focused action! Are there days you dread doing what is needed to manage your people, projects, and team’s financial performance? You’re not alone! Everyone has those days! But continuing to hide behind excuses only hurts you and your future promotability. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams successfully – this includes getting you out of the way and working with and through people effectively to achieve the results required. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.